Existentialism Essay, Research Paper

Existentialism

In our individual routines, each and every one of us strive to be the best that we are capable of being. How peculiar this is; we aim for similar goals, yet the methods we enact are unique. Just as no two people have the same fingerprint, no two have identical theories on how to live life. While some follow religious outlines to aspire to a level of moral excellence, others pursue different approaches. Toward the end of the Nineteenth-Century and on through the mid-Twentieth, a movement followed “existentialism,” a philosophical theory of life, in order to achieve such a level. Even though the idea of existentialism is complex, certain themes are common amongst philosophers and authors: moral individualism, freedom of choice, responsibility, alienation.

Fundamental to understanding existentialism is the conception of moral individualism. Existentialism rejects traditional ethical endeavors. Philosophers since the time of Aristotle, circa Third-Century B.C.E. (before the common era), have held that everyone should aim for a common peak of ethical achievement. Aristotle argued for the existence of a divine being, described as the “Prime Mover,” who is responsible for the unity and purposefulness of nature. In order for humanity to attain such a climax, everyone must imitate The Almighty’s perfect profile. Aristotle’s basic philosophy deduces that humanity strives for an identical peak of moral excellence, as judged by a higher being (Aristotle).

Existentialism declares that the individual must choose his way; there is no predetermination. Since the universe is meaningless and absurd, people must set their own ethical standards. The universe does not predetermine moral rules. Each person strives toward a unique moral perfection. The Nineteenth-Century Danish philosopher Soren Kierkegaard, who was the first writer to call himself e)existential, reacted against tradition by insisting that the highest good for the individual is to find his uniqueness. His journal reads, ‘I must find a truth that is true for me … the idea for which I can live or die” (Existentialism). Existentialists believe that morality depends on the individual, rather than a supreme being.

Next to moral individualism, the inevitability of choice is the most prominent existentialist theory. Existentialism assert that people do not have a fixed nature, as other animals and plants do. Our choices determine who we are. The Twentieth-Century French philosopher Jean Paul Sartre proclaimed that the most Important choice is the choice of ourselves. Each character makes choices that create his nature. Existence suggests freedom where mankind is open to a future that is determined by choice and action. Choice is inescapable and central to human existence; the refusal to choose is a choice. Even when a person seems to be acting out a “given’ role or following “given” values — for example, by The Almighty, or by society — he is in fact choosing to do so (Sartre). Individuals are free to choose their own destination. Hence, they must accept the risk and responsibility of following their commitment.

Since man’s choices cannot be universally judged, E)Existentialists propose a framework for which responsibility can be recognized. This outline does not tell individuals what and how to choose; rather it implies that there are right and wrong ways of choosing. Usually through situations such as death, struggle, guilt, @anxiety, nausea, or anguish, one becomes aware of responsibility (right versus wrong). Kierkegaard mentioned that an individual must experience dread, fear of specific objects such as the Almighty, to recognize responsibility. The word anxiety has a crucial role in the work of Twentieth-Century German philosopher Martin Hiedegger. Hiedegger defines an3dety as an individual’s confrontation with meaningless and the discovery that the only justification for one’s demean or comes from within. Heproclaimed that responsibility will therefore be acknowledged. In the philosophy of Sartre, the word nausea is used for the individual’s recognition of continual, absolute freedom of choice (Olson). It is through these senses that people perceive responsibility.

Existentialists regard responsibility as personal and subjective (existing only in the mind; iIlusionary), considering people decide morality, not a supreme being. E)dstentialists have insisted that personal experiences and acting on one’s own convictions are essential in arriving at the truth. Accordingly, truth is subjective. Thus, the understanding of a situation by someone involved in that situation Is superior to that of observers. Even though one person may view a situation as immoral, existentialism maintains that only those involved can determine morality.

Existential novels and short stories include themes of moral individualism, freedom of choice, and responsibility, as well as alienation from the world, The Stranger, by Albert Camus, incorporated subjects of existentialism. In this novel, the protagonist Mersault finds himself alienated from the world. Franz Kafka, another existential writer, expressed his views in the short story’ The Metamorphosis.” In this tale, the hero, a hardworking insurance agent, awakens to discover that he has turned into an enormo us insect, four feet in length. He recognizes his familial rejection as he is left to die alone (Kafka). Many Existentialists focus on an absurd nightmare of the world and life.

Dostoyevsky, a Nineteenth-Century Russian Existential novelist, mentioned through one of his characters: ‘We must love life more than the meaning of it” (E3dstentialism). After all, Existentialists maintain that life is lacking significance without moral individualism, freedom of choice, responsibility, and alienation. Each person decides for himself how to live life. People have the right to decide their own fate, even when their decisions are socially unacceptable, like self-choicc-homeless, euthanasia advocates, and homosexual Iffestyles.

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